A Question of UN Credibility: Releasing the Settlements Database
The European Union’s highest court recently ruled that EU countries are required to identify products made in Israeli settlements on their labels. However, another international body – the UN – continues to avoid releasing its database of companies engaged in activities with Israel’s settlements. Al-Shabaka Policy Analyst 24498 and Guest Contributor Maha Abdallah explain why and recommend ways to pressure the UN to fulfill its mandate.
Digital Censorship in the Palestinian Context
Palestinians are facing mounting digital censorship from all angles – from the Israeli government to the Palestinian Authority and Hamas. What are the implications of this growing trend, and what tools exist to fight back? In this policy lab, analysts 24474 and Nadim Nashif join host Nur Arafeh to discuss the threat against Palestinian digital rights and anchor it within the wider global trend of digital repression.
Restructuring the Palestinian Authority: It’s Now or Never
The Palestinian Authority (PA) has perhaps never been so disconnected from Palestinian society. Al-Shabaka policy analyst 24397 examines how international involvement has helped shore up this disconnect by rendering the PA progressively repressive, and suggests steps for the PA as well as Palestinian civil society to take in order to change the status quo.
Focus On: Palestine’s Natural Resources
Palestine has an abundance of natural resources, but in the decades since the establishment of the state of Israel they have been compromised and exploited. In this collection of analysis, Al-Shabaka experts provide insight into issues related to Palestinian natural resources, from their theft by Israel to the effects of climate change and its intersection with the Israeli occupation.
UNRWA in a Time of Crisis: Separating the Red Herrings from Legitimate Shortcomings
UNRWA has recently faced funding cuts and an ethics report detailing alleged abuses by top management. While these events are important to understand UNRWA’s current dilemmas, they do not provide a proper understanding of the Agency’s more fundamental issues. 24376 sheds light on UNRWA’s actual challenges and why its mandate should include durable solutions for Palestine refugees.
Palestinian Opposition to Social Security: Revolution or Devolution?
Through vociferous protest, in June 2019 the Palestinian private sector, laborers, and civil society succeeded in halting the Palestinian Authority’s latest attempt to institute a social security system in the Occupied Palestinian Territory. Why did Palestinians, including Palestinian workers, fight against a right that other workers around the world have historically fought for? Guest contributor 24448 explains.
Should Palestinian Citizens of Israel Boycott the Elections?: An Al-Shabaka Debate
Many are debating whether the re-emergence of a united Joint Arab List will result in increased Palestinian voter turnout in this month’s Knesset elections, but for those who advocate for an election boycott, the status of the Joint List is moot. In this roundtable debate, Al-Shabaka’s Nijmeh Ali and 24588 argue against and for boycotting Israeli elections, respectively.
Focus On: International Aid to Palestine
The Trump Administration’s aid cuts to Palestinians, while disastrous, can spur a reassessment of the Oslo Accords aid model, which for decades has failed to bring Palestinians closer to freedom, self-determination, or statehood. In this collection of pieces, Al-Shabaka analysts examine aid to Palestine and its harmful ramifications, and suggest ways to reform and reinvent Palestinian aid.
Dangerous Bill in Congress to Crush the PLO and PA
A US bill being considered by the Senate Judiciary Committee puts at stake the ability of the Palestinian leadership to engage diplomatic and legal channels to support Palestinian national aspirations and to seek accountability through international mechanisms, as well as the future of the US-Palestinian bilateral relationship. Al-Shabaka Policy Analyst Zaha Hassan reports.
